


Ransom Week 2017

by torkz



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Graduation, M/M, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 23:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12178329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torkz/pseuds/torkz
Summary: I did day 1, day 2 was a playlist, i combined days 3 and 4 and then i did day 6. there's obviously a running theme with my work and that's the fact that i suck at consistency lmao





	1. celebration

You knew this was coming. 

You’d been preparing for this since you stepped foot on the campus that was designated to help you catch up to the dreams you had been chasing. You knew when you did this for the first time four years ago that you would have to do it again, do it twice. You knew when his fist touched yours that you would have to watch him do this too. 

And yet, nothing prepared you. 

Not the hours spent in the library clutching your knees to your chest under tables, nor the quiet minutes gliding around the ice just to feel the cold air on your skin. Even the hours spent with him winding down with beers and Mario Kart, the cuddling in bed watching his skin turn pink everywhere you touched weren't enough.

Not even momma telling you at dinner after the first time you did it: “You’re going to do this again baby, and I’m going to be just as proud of you then as I am now.” 

As you look into the crowd at your momma clinging to your dad’s arm watching you walk, at your dad’s bright proud grin, at your sisters’ incessant screaming before they’ve even called your name, you wonder if you’re ready. People have done this time and time again, hell, you watched two of them the year before and you’re still watching them, as they barrel head first into success. That doesn’t quite satisfy the monster in your stomach clawing its way up to sit heavily in your chest. 

But still, you walk.

You’re seated now and he’s coming up on stage, larger than everyone who shakes his hand, larger than life itself. You’re on your feet clapping before they even finish his name, Adam Birkholtz, and he slides a wink your way, knowing it will make you blush. God,  you love him. Larissa is next, a dwarf in equal measure to Adam’s giant, and you scream for her too, make a vow for her sake to never mention the tears in her eyes. Finally,  _ finally _ , you’re up next, sound muffled as they call your name: “Justin Oluransi, our valedictorian, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Biology!” The crowd is booming and you’re overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people congratulating you, celebrating you. You’re not sure where you’re going next, but you know, with all the people who have your back, now and forever... 

You’re ready.


	2. pressure and faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For day two, I actually did a playlist that I put on spotify called "study, bro", and this is for days three and four!

_ An excerpt from Justin Oluransi’s journal: _

_ 03/30 _

I dont know this fucking writing bullshit is Derek’s thing but what the hell, here we go. I made the mistake of telling him about my feelings, and he suggested I try to get it all on “paper” (or laptop I guess fuck a notebook) as a way to like “let the bad feelings flow out of my fingertips” or something. Whatever the fuck that means. Okay im being a dick hes a really good boyfriend and this may not be a bad idea. Who knows.

Anyway. I feel bad today. Pre med is fucking hard, being an athlete is fucking hard, being a student athlete is fucking hard, managing a schedule with a relationship is fucking hard. Being with derek is easy. Though I have no idea how he fucking deals with me, I feel like I just spiral between exhausted and anxious these days. I keep snapping at him and I keep apologizing but that doesn't make it okay. Idk. I just feel so much pressure all the time, like my mom and dad are goddamn doctors Im the first kid in college so I should be a fucking doctor, but like Ife wants to be a goddamn engineer and Chika wants to be a pharmacist, so they’re gonna be the epitome of what every Nigerian parent wants. So why cant I just not?? Why cant I just take a year before I go to grad school and figure out what I fucking like? I dont want to be a doctor. There. I said it. I, Justin Oluransi, do not want to be a doctor. Holy shit. Ive never said those words. Ive never even texted them.

Shit shit shit fuck fuck fucking gddam fuck i have a biology degree what the fuck am i gonna do h my god oh my god oh my go

_ 03/31 _

So. I talked to Derek and Holster. Derek supports me, not that I ever doubted that. Holster is a little pissed, he thinks Im wasting some bullshit gift, and like I get it I know Im fucking smart I know Im the kind of smart that people struggle for, but that shouldn't define my future. Who knows maybe Ill venture out and find that I was still supposed to be a doctor, but why does my brain mean that I'll never get the chance to try? I still have the degree, I already did the hard part right? I deserve a chance to be who I am. I deserve the chance to figure out who that even is. Derek has faith in me, and so does Lardo, who found out because Adam Birkholtz has never used an inside voice in his entire goddamn life. But I still haven't made holster get it. And it really shouldn't matter to me except of course it fucking does because hes my best friend. His opinion is important to me. But also fuck him like hes worked with me out of more panic attacks than I probably even know of, he KNOWS me. he should trust me. Fuck him. Whatever. 

Anyway. I need to tell my mom and dad but dying honestly seems like a better alternative. They're going to be so fucking disappointed in me. I really cant handle that, Ive never made them mad in my life? Ive never even upset them. They love Derek, they love Samwell, they love hockey. So I shouldn’t even be worried about it. I would get some encouragement from Derek but he knows as well as I do that it probably wont be a huge deal and will try to distract me with dick or something. Fuckin gorgeous hipster poet asshole, christ. Never mind. I don't know. I cant shake the feeling that Im making the wrong decision, but I did pros and cons and there aren't any serious outcomes, you know? At every angle I look at it, it works out. And even if it doesn't I already have the degree to fall back on. Right? Right??? It’s gonna be fine. Im gonna be fine. Ive got Derek and Lardo and Holster will come around eventually. It's okay im okay its okay it's okay its okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when I initially did this, I was berating myself for being lazy but then I wrote and I was so glad I did it this way! Also, let the record show that I wrote this BEFORE the update and it just happened to match the next comic that came out. I was shook lmao  
> hope you enjoyed!


	3. revelations

Its days like today, when the world is grey and the clouds are thick from holding the tears of the sky, the wind switching from harsh to caressing and back again, every thing sharp and brisk and cold, that Justin Oluransi feels at home. There’s something so cleansing about rain. It washes all the dirtybadwrong from the ground and the world and his skin, and he feels like he can breathe again. Everything is so overwhelming so often and everyone is so abrasive, and it's when the world is muted and crisp that Justin feels the most comfort. He says as much to Chris one evening as they sit on the couch watching the rain saturate and replenish, Chris’s fingers running gentle circles over his cheekbones, across his lips, down his collarbone. They're both graduated now and being an adult is so difficult and all consuming, it's not often they get to have this. He realizes that he's in love with him when he smiles bright enough to light up the room and bends down to press a kiss to his forehead.

“I know you're not looking for validation but everyone expects you to be upbeat and glow like the sun. It’s okay to find solace in the quiet of the rain.”

“God, you're fucking perfect, you know that?” Justin says softly, feeling his face grow hot as he buries it deeper into his ex-goalie’s thigh. His soul lights up when he hears Chris chuckle above him, and he wonders if he can stay here forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't do day five or day seven bc I am une POS, but I hope you enjoyed what I did have! Like I said, day 2 was a playlist I worked on for hours on spotify called study, bro (my username is tori_peck73)!
> 
> come visit me on [tumblr](oluranurse.tumblr.com) and ask me all the questions or tell me nice things. thanks for reading!


End file.
